Cypress Garden Hotel

For Japanese standards, it’s all fine: the cypress garden, breakfast, and small but functional rooms. It’s an ordinary three-star hotel, without a gym or the extra features we might expect from hotels in the US. It may be the closest option to the convention center, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but staying downtown and taking the train over might honestly be better.

The rooms are good and give foreigners enough space to spread out. It’s a one-minute walk from a major station that connects subway and JR lines, and you can also order shinkansen tickets there. I’d definitely recommend it.

We stayed on the 13th floor and had a nice city view. I’d read comments about cigarette smell, but didn’t notice any, and I’m very sensitive to it. The room was clean and cozy, and somewhat spacious. The building does feel a little old, though everything looked clean and worked fine. Kanayama station is a one-minute walk away, and the Nagoya Congress Center is about 15 minutes on foot. There are lots of restaurants around, including ethnic food and Starbucks.

The staff were great and very helpful. The location is handy too, just a short walk from kanayama station, where you can catch transport to the airport.